Jonathan Wilson Spanish clubs in decline
It’s never wise to read too much into the results of one season, and particularly not one as unusual as 2019-20. Still, it felt significant that, for the first time since 2007, there wasn’t a single La Liga side in the semi-finals of the Champions League. Odd things can happen in knockout football – having provided all four finalists of the two European competitions the previous season, there were no Premier League semi-finalists either – but what was striking was the Spanish teams went out.
Manchester City were eliminated following a surprising and destabilising tactical switch from manager Pep Guardiola; Liverpool went out through a goalkeeping error after a slightly freakish game; Chelsea cannot defend against counters and met an excellent Bayern Munich; Tottenham had a season when problems came home to roost leading to a change of manager. Given the immense wealth of the Premier League, it’s reasonable to suggest their clubs have underperformed in Europe en masse over the past decade but it’s difficult to isolate one reason for their exits in 2019-20.
But look at the four La Liga clubs. Valencia are Valencia and have their own sense of perpetual crisis, but they were bullied by Atalanta in the last 16. Real Madrid seemed startled by Manchester City’s pressing, particularly in the first half of the second leg, and ended up selfdestructing by giving the ball away repeatedly. Barcelona, as so often over the past four seasons, looked laboured in midfield and were swatted aside by a much more dynamic Bayern. And most significant of all were Atletico, who were physically and tactically outmatched by RB Leipzig. In all four games, the Spanish side looked slower and less powerful than their opponents – and that constitutes a worrying trend.
Since 2009, La Liga has been the dominant force in the Champions League by some margin. Barcelona’s first triumph under Pep Guardiola was the beginning of a run of seven titles in a decade for Spanish sides. In part that was the result of two great individuals in Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, and in part because of the tactical innovation and excellence of Guardiola. His Barca redrew the parameters of what was considered possible in football, and led to teams more generally taking a far more possession-based approach.
While Real Madrid never took on the philosophy wholesale and remained far more driven by big stars with big personalities who reliably performed in crunch games, in the technical excellence of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos and the way they, at their best, could control a midfield, there was at least a reflection of the same method. At Atletico, of course, Diego Simeone was doing something very different, but he too was influenced by Barca, if only because he had to devise a way to play against opponents who had taken on those passing ideals.
But football has moved on. The Spanish model has been replaced by the German one. It’s no coincidence that three of the coaches in the Champions League semi-finals were German. Regaining the ball has become more important than retaining it. Possession football
In all four games, the Spanish side looked slower and less powerful than their opponents
has yielded to something more physical and all four Spanish Champions League exits at least in part resulted from not being able to cope.
Perhaps this is inevitable after a run of such sustained success. To keep winning is, almost unavoidably, to invite inertia. Why would anybody change a formula that is successful? The tendency will always be to keep doing what works. But as players age, or move on, and new players struggle to integrate, that offers the opportunity for others to overtake. In the super club era, the problems are magnified by the fact that they are essentially unassailable domestically. Last season was one of the worst in Barcelona’s history and yet they still came second.
There is entropy and complacency, and that is seen most surely at Atletico, a club that has forged its reputation in not being complacent. For what feels like an eternity, they have been locked in a debate about style: how far can the anti-futbol of Simeone take them, and do they need to become more expansive if they are ever to challenge Real Madrid and Barcelona in the long run? The familiar pattern played out: a summer spree, some indifferent results, then a return to basics and improvement. Joao Felix, the iconic signing, didn’t even start against Leipzig. He made a difference when he came on, before being shut down when Julian Nagelsmann changed shape and introduced Tyler Adams. The sense throughout was that Leipzig were simply tougher and smarter – two areas in which Atletico would have expected to dominate.
It’s only one season – and Sevilla did continue their exceptional record in the Europa League – but it does feel that football is moving into a new era, one in which the tactical ideas of Spain have been supplanted by those of Germany.